The present invention relates to the art of dental instruments. It finds more particular application in a disposable toothbrush where one would only have to dispose, replace, or interchange the top (brush) portion of the toothbrush. However, it will be appreciated that the invention has other applications, such as interchangeable home dental devices, i.e., a tooth pick top and a toothbrush top, which would expand the use of the bottom, handle portion. Further, it may be advantageously employed in other environments and applications.
Traditionally, there have been many varieties of toothbrushes which had disposable and interchangeable heads or disposable bristle sections. The reason for wanting disposable heads or brush sections would be either because the handle or gripping section was made from an expensive material, the handle or gripping portion had an ornamental design, or the top section had multiple instrumentalities or replacements. For example, the top section can have different nylon bristle stiffness replacements or interchangeable picking devices and brushes.
These previous toothbrushes have been hard to operate because their connection devices required a lot of strength or coordination to operate. There have been a plurality of connection or attachment devices to connect the top and bottom portions together. For example, there are male/female devices, which are inserted into each other, threaded devices, which screw together, sliding devices, which slide and lock together, similar to the male/female devices, and others known to those skilled in the art.
While certain connecting devices for connecting the top and bottom portions of a disposable toothbrush have been designed in an effort to overcome the foregoing deficiencies, they have not been successful. The problem with the prior art devices is that a person wants to be able to easily and securely attach and detach the top portion of the dental instrument from the bottom portion. With the screw type devices, this was difficult. It took a lot of effort and was difficult for some people with physical challenges to accomplish, making the replacement or interchangeability irrelevant. In the male/female devices, they were often times not secure enough to withstand the forces exerted on the connection during brushing, causing them to become loose. In contrast, other styles of male/female connectors were secured so tightly that they were very difficult to pull apart to replace or interchange the top portion. Further, when the top portion had the male section, there was too much force on the male section and it would sometimes break off.
The daily use suggestions for toothbrushes generally causes sufficient bristle wear that brush overuse is a fairly common problem. This is not only due to the normal reluctance and inconvenience of purchasing and replacing a toothbrush, but also because most users simply cannot determine themselves when the brush itself has become too worn. On the other hand, users have become accustomed to handles with replaceable tool heads for personal and oral hygiene such as razor blades, water picks and the like, so the prospect of having readily replaceable heads for a toothbrush is particularly convenient as an incentive to regularly change the brush head over time for better quality brushing.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved apparatus and method which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.
The present invention relates to the art of dental instruments. More specifically, it relates to a toothbrush which has a disposable or replaceable head.
In the preferred embodiment, the dental device comprises a top section having a first aperture, a second aperture, a first end and a second end. The first end includes a notched portion. The first aperture extends into the top section from the first end, and the second aperture is located along a top surface of the top section between the top section first and second ends.
The dental device further comprises a bottom section having a first end and a second end. The bottom section first end includes a tabbed portion which matingly engages with the notched portion of the top section first end.
The dental device further includes an extension having a first end and a second end and a protrusion adjacent the extension first end. The extension second end is connected to the bottom section first end. The protrusion selectively cooperates with the second aperture in the top section to selectively lock and unlock the top and bottom sections when the extension is fully inserted into the first aperture of the top section. The protrusion extends beyond a top surface of the top section when the protrusion is fully engaged within the second aperture.
The bottom section further comprises a gripping portion located between the bottom section first end and second end. The top section further comprises a dental instrument such as a brush head located adjacent the top section second end.
The extension further comprises a first section and a second section which are generally parallel to each other. The first section has a first end and a second end. The protrusion is located adjacent the first section first end.
The first and second sections of the extension are deformable toward each other. A gap is formed between the extension first section and second section. The protrusion and the second section form a xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d-shaped cross section which ensures proper orientation of the bottom section and the top section, i.e., that the handle and brush head are properly aligned.
The top section and bottom section each further comprise an edge, wherein the top section edge is located at the top section first end. The bottom section edge is located at the bottom section first end. The top section edge and the bottom section edge cooperatively engage each other.
A main advantage of the present invention is that a top and bottom section of a dental device can be easily detached and attached to each other.
Another advantage is that the assembly is configured to maximize integral strength of the assembled components, while minimizing difficulty of the disassembly and reassembly process.
Another advantage of the present invention is that various brush heads or dental devices can be easily interchanged on a single bottom section.
Another advantage is that a plurality of identical brush heads can be used with the same handle over time to extend the useful life of the brush assembly and delay the need for replacement.
Other advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.